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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Where do Johnny and Ponyboy go after Cherry and Marcia leave with the Socs?

2. Who jumps Ponyboy when he is walking home from the movie theater?

3. Who invites Ponyboy and Johnny to sit with them at the drive-in?

4. What do Johnny and Ponyboy need to get once they get to the church?

5. What is Ponyboy doing at the beginning of Chapter 1?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is Ponyboy's living arrangement?

2. What is Ponyboy's reaction to cutting and dyeing his hair?

3. What does Dally do when Johnny asks if his parents are worried about him?

4. How do the greasers sneak into the drive-in, and why do they do it?

5. What does Ponyboy realize that he has in common with Cherry?

6. Describe the major event that occurs in Chapter 4 and how is a turning point in the novel.

7. What does Ponyboy tell Cherry and the others about Darry as they are walking to Two-Bit's house?

8. Describe what the Socs do to Ponyboy during the fight at the park.

9. Describe the park that Johnny and Ponyboy go to in Chapter 4.

10. What happens when Cherry and Marcia's boyfriends show up as they are walking from the drive-in with the greasers?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Explain how The Outsiders can be considered a "coming of age" story. How do the main characters mature?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the significance of the title of the novel. Who is an "outsider" throughout the story, and what makes that person an "outsider"? What other interpretations of the title are there?

Essay Topic 3

Explain how symbols are used in the novel. Specifically: What does the sunset symbolize? The vacant lot? What about the different books and poems Ponyboy reads?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 666 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample